drive. now he is 1 for 2 in this drive. both throws were good. put in a spot where nobody can get it. i know my team up to this point hasn't been as good as last year, but we can be better because of number 8. alabama will have to earn this win in death valley. >> verne: 3rd down and 7. on the side. mettenberger under pressure. it is caught. this is jarvis landry. >> [cheers and applause]. >> gary: it was a zone blitz. if you don't get to the quarterback, you have a safety covering. number 6 again. a step late and vinnie sunseri cannot make the play.

when you do the zone blitz there is not a lot of guys back there. you are giving them space in exchange for an extra rusher. >> verne: toss right side. down to the 14 yardline goes hill. tiger stadium a brand new attendance record by the way in the 89th year of the stadium. there have been expansions. it's 14-10. lsu had an early lead. 2 unanswered by alabama. the last right before the half. les miles rolled the dice on a couple of plays and came up short. but a fumble recovery at the 9 yardline. a big, big play to copeland and now lsu threatening to take the lead. into the corner. touchdown landry. >> [cheers and applause]. >> [crowd noise].

>> [cheers and applause]. >> gary: you see mettenberger just then? >> verne: he was taking a cellphone call. we were told that alabama students former tim tebow had gotten ahold of his cellphone number. >> gary: he better be careful and concentrate on playing quarterback. >> verne: i got you. >> [cheers and applause]. >> verne: lsu leads by 3. >> gary: this is always a challenge for a great defense. sometimes the offense is just better than you. belue has man-to-man coverage. can't throw it any better than this. look where it is placed. perfect. no chance. he goes up and gets it at the highest point. i don't care how good you play

man-to-man coverage, you can't stop that play. >> verne: 7 plays and 90 yards. a 42 yard pass and a 13 yard pass for the touchdown. >> [cheers and applause]. a winter wonderland doesn't just happen. it takes some doing. some coordinating. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shine... ...to the things that sparkle and jingle. all while saving the things that go in our wallet. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. trade in any light string and get up to five bucks off the latest holiday leds. syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange.

(sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> verne: take you throw this one. opening score of the game. a 38 yard field goal. lsu up by 3. then two second quarter touchdown. lacy puts alabama on top. and then just before the half, mccarron found his way up the middle. scampered in for a touchdown. 14-3 at the half. here's jeremy hill with his touchdown to make it 14-10.

then a 90-yard drive ending with this perfectly executed pass from mettenberger to landry. >> gary: you saw a brief signal from mettenberger. he could have gotten flagged for that. we have seen that before. >> verne: he was just -- i know i know. >> gary: i would be concentrating. you have a chance to win the national championship. >> verne: hairston will kickoff. christion jones one of the 2 deep men. short kick. the 18 yardline. that's dickson the linebacker who did not expect to be returning the kickoff. let's go to the studio for the

heisman watch with adam zucker. >> adam: thanks. dickson probably won't win the heisman but barner a school record, 321 yards as oregon beats usc 62-ppo. -- 62-51. and murray with 4 touchdowns and taj boyd with 5 and also ran for 1. >> verne: 17-14 here. >> gary: 3 series. 3 and out, 3 and out and a fumble. >> verne: in this half. mccarron. batted down. logan number 18. >> gary: sooner or later to win a championship, your quarterback has to come through. mcleroy did it. do you remember that? >> verne: i sure do.

>> gary: now a.j. mccarron behind in the fourth quarter. he can't just dink and dunk and take sacks. he will have to throw the ball and take risks with the football. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: lacy. huge 3rd down coming up. bennie logan and sam montgomery. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: lacy off and yeldon comes on. 3rd and 10. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: alabama is 1 and 7 in 3rd down conversions. will they go 3 and out again? >> [crowd noise].

>> verne: yes. intercepted. >> gary: nope, nope. >> verne: the trap. eric reid. >> gary: had him wide open. shinn coming across. had him wide open. just outreached and skipped. >> verne: mandell on to punt. another 3 and out for alabama the defending national champions. >> gary: pressure always finds the quarterback sooner or later. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: returnable. beckham. taken down from behind. patrick number 11. that's a 45 yard punt. 10 on the return. time has been called.

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>> [crowd noise]. >> verne: i wonder if that same moon is as visible over new york tonight? let's go back to the studio for this update with adam zucker. >> adam: the number 2 team in the bcs standings. john hubert of kansas state. 2 touchdowns to break open what was a tight game against oklahoma state. they lead by 17 now with under 9 to go in little manhattan. back to you, sir. >> verne: all right. 11:51 to go here. 1st and 10. lsu took the lead after a fumble recovery at the 10 yardline. that was a miss. >> gary: self-inflicted. >> verne: yes, and lsu hasn't turned the ball over. mettenberger hit 7 of his last 8

passes. that's a flag. >> gary: that's what they did in the championship game. jumping offside and making it first and 15. >> referee: number seven. 5 yards from the previous spot. sill first. -- still 1st down. >> gary: there you go. >> verne: my gracious! >> gary: number of plays. averaging 58 for the game. >> verne: the only other team that went above 300 yards against alabama? georgia southern. the first time it's happened since that game. copeland nothing. hubbard made the tackle. 2nd down and 16. for the season, 203 yards, number 1 in the country.

and 333 given up by alabama tonight. 2nd down and 16. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: boone on this side. play-action. mettenberger fires it. wide open. beckham. down the sideline. caught from behind. they gouged them again. >> [crowd noise]. >> gary: beautifully designed play. this is an area they will throw the ball into. they get the receiver right there. deep and right into the open area. and protection against the alabama pass rush. that was long yardage too. >> verne: you bet you. >> gary: alabama has a long

second on the screen pass they picked up and mettenberger may be going on. >> verne: 1st down and 10 am thrown for 245 now. hill closing in on his 3rd consecutive 100 yard game. belue made the stop. the only loss on saturday night at home came against number 1 florida. 13-3. that was in 2009. >> gary: that was the tim tebow concussion game? >> verne: yes, it was. 2nd down and 8. under 10 to play. play-action again. mettenberger chased, fires. got it. landry. wow! >> gary: it will be 3rd and

short. this was another story of the football game. opponents against alabama, as you look at this play-action pass, came into this game converting 1 out of 4. in this game, lsu is over 50%. they are 8 out of 15. while alabama is 1 for 8. it's the story of the game. >> verne: at the 25. 3rd down, 2. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: didn't get it. >> gary: no. well left. rolled the dice. because a field goal makes it a 6 point game. >> [crowd noise]. >> gary: if they went for long

yards. >> verne: we remember florida and lsu here. 2007. he went for it 5 times. >> gary: they will go wild cat. >> verne: it will be spencer ware. he is going under center. >> gary: i don't know. >> verne: i don't either. let's see. >> gary: i don't think so. >> verne: nick saban thinks they held him. spencer ware under center. now watch this spot. >> gary: they try to follow number 44 copeland. but i think the play was -- was it dickson that made the stop? >> verne: no 57. >> gary: what a play! >> verne: well, hold your breath if you are an alabama or lsu fan

for this measurement. >> gary: i thought they had to get it to the next yardline. i thought it was short by a half yard at least. >> verne: we are about to find out. oh, wow! >> gary: at least! they didn't even gain an inch on the play. les has rolled the dice 4 times. he is 0 for 4. however, it appeared to have spencer ware fumble that snap too. did not catch it cleanly. yes, he does bobble it, doesn't he? >> verne: yes. >> gary: 0 for 4. however, his aggressive transcended to his team. his team is playing hard. road closed? there's a guy. excuse me, sir. hi. glacier point?

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>> help victims of disasters. text: cbs cares. well, 8:41 to go. >> gary: they needed jacob.

>> verne: that's what i was thinking. i was thinking about that lsu-florida game when les went for it 5 times on 4th down and converted all 5 including a winning touchdown with jacob. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: mccarron missed his last 5 passes. >> gary: and 4 series in the second half. three 3 and outs and a fum at the end of the drive. >> verne: yeldon is the running back. norwood in motion. lsu might be coming from the corner. they are not. here's mccarron. incomplete. oh, no! it is incomplete, okay. >> gary: i tell you, the alabama bench thinks he caught it. but, of course, they would. obviously it could be reviewed.

the outside. kevin norwood perfectly thrown ball. they were making these catches in the national championship. yes, easy call. >> verne: mccarron now 0 for 6. >> gary: nice job by mills stripping that ball loose because his foot was in. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: quick screen right side. quick tackle right side. caught by shinn and mills number 28 was right there.

>> gary: yes. you look at alabama's position chart. we just talked about it. they had 4 series, three 3 and outs and a fumble. that was the right call. mills back-to-back championship plays. he strips the ball and makes the tackle. >> [crowd noise]. >> verne: who needs claiborne? >> [crowd noise]. >> gary: 1 for 8 on 3rd downs. >> vern >> verne: 1 for 9. sam montgomery was shadowing there. >> gary: well, this obviously was great coverage in the secondary. the receiver blanking it over

the middle that time. great job by mills again. the go-to guy on 3 plays, and he wins 3 straight times. >> verne: another 3 and out for the number 1 team in the country. mandell will front. the clock beginning to become an issue. 7:27 remaining. not sure what this conversation involves. >> gary: alabama can only hope to get the ball 2 more possessions. >> referee: reset the game ball to 7 minutes and 22 seconds. >> gary: the most they will get is 2 more possessions unless there is a turnover on an early down. they can only count on probably

2 more possessions in regulation. >> [whistle blowing]. >> verne: notre dame wins in 3 overtimes today. they are still undefeated. oregon wins by 1 against southern cal. they are still undefeated. kansas state winning big. they are still undefeated. >> gary: what a punt. >> verne: mandell. beckham. fair catch. 54 yard punt. mills the story in the last 10 minutes of this game. so is sam montgomery. scottrade, we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more

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[ male announcer ] around view monitor with bird's-eye view. nice work. [ male announcer ] introducing the all-new nissan pathfinder. it's our most innovative pathfinder ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ >> verne: 7:20 to go in the game. go back over this series, gary, big plays in the fourth quarter. >> gary: you remember chad jones gets a sack and a fumble. johnson with the interception. remember the interception that wasn't by patrick peterson? the big sack and fumble by mcelroy. what will happen this year and eric reid last year in this football game in the fourth quarter. who will make the big play in

the fourth quarter this time. >> verne: i go back to the top of the telecast and you said mettenberger has to come up big. 9 of his last 10 and played suberbly. >> gary: absolutely. you won't beat alabama with 10.5 sacks, meaning you can't manage your quarterback. you have to play with a guy who is willing to throw the ball. >> verne: moderate numbers all year but terrific tonight. here's hill. and tackled by milliner. 261 yards passing tonight. play-action. fires it out. diving try. >> gary: nope. >> verne: incomplete.

>> gary: the ball was put in a great spot. great coverage by belue. the alabama defense needs to do what lsu did. the lsu defense stepped up and met the challenge. will alabama get a stop? remember this this game, 50% of the time, 8 out of 16 times, lsu is converting on 3rd down. can this alabama defense get a stop on 3rd down? >> verne: 3rd and 6 here. 3 wides to the right. blitz. mettenberger. lets it go. caught. jarvis landry. 1st down. >> [cheers and applause]. >> gary: inside coming across. this blitz, they are disguising it. that's taking too long to get there.

mettenberger has time to let it go and carves up inside against perry. that blitz hasn't worked. it worked early a few times, but the lsu offensive line, running backs and mettenberger have carved up the blitz. >> verne: spencer ware in the backfield now. clement. the toss to ware. goes right. whoa, wait a minute! a missed tackle. milliner first one there. and then stenson. under 6 to go. >> gary: a tired alabama football team. you can just see it. their legs are dead. 75 plays. that's what happens when you get a top on